Romance of the Pimpernel
by Lady Murdock
Summary: An adventure story, the whole gang is here, will be multiple chapters. Myka and Pete stumble upon a powerful artifact in the Warehouse and unleash a secret it has held for almost a hundred years.
1. Chapter 1

4

*Disclaimer: I do not own Warehouse 13 or its amazing cast of characters.

*Historical Note: Most of the information about the Amber Room is true, it really was a room made out of amber in the Catherine Palace, it was "in fact" stolen by the Nazi's in 1941 and as of 2011- a reproduction of the Amber Room is on display in the Palace Museum. The article that Myka is reading is real and available online at

The Romance of the Pimpernel- Chapter 1

"It was one of Russia's masterpieces of artistry until it vanished with the Nazi retreat of 1945," Myka marveled at the pictures of the Amber Room in the Catherine Palace museum outside St. Petersburg. The photos appeared side by side with an article promoting the new reproduction on display of Russia's long lost treasure: a room made completely of amber. With some much anticipated vacation time coming up; the Warehouse Agent was headed to the Kremlin, and had been on her laptop all morning researching her trip to Russia. She was finally going to enjoy a little time off and really wanted to make the most of her time spent in such a historically significant place. Myka was starting her trip in St. Petersburg and couldn't wait to visit the Palace, "Soaring walls bloom with polished shards of amber—blood red, honey-blond, milky-gold-inset with jeweled mosaics and gilded trim," Myka read aloud as Artie typed away on his desktop in the Warehouse control room.

"I don't know why you are so excited to go visit a reproduction," Artie grumpily responded. "It's not even the real artifact."

"You know, before the Germans dismantled it in 1941, the Amber Room was unofficially called the 8th Wonder of the World, right?" Myka ignored him.

"You are surrounded constantly by the many historical wonders of the world, Myka, without going all the way to Russia to look at a copy made of a fake of something that was stolen by Nazis." Artie swiveled his chair around indignantly.

"It's not the same," Myka slowly looked up from the screen, "I want to go on an adventure that won't kill me."

"Where's the fun in that?" Pete strolled into the room and threw his clipboard down, "Besides, you can't leave me here with inventory for the next two weeks while you go on some nerd romp through Siberia." Things had been quiet for the past few days at the Warehouse and Artie had assigned different aisles to each agent to catalog.

Myka, realization just dawning on her, asked suddenly alarmed, "Wait, what did you mean by it's not the real artifact? The Amber Room was an entire room- a place can't be an artifact."

Artie flashed an impatient half smile, "Myka, you should know by now that artifacts have limitless possibilities. But in this case, you are in fact correct; The Amber Room was not, in fact an artifact because the Amber Room was not, in fact a room." Artie turned back to his computer.

"And a raven is not, _in fact,_ a writing desk," Claudia emerged from the umbilicus doorway. "See? Inventory can be fun and educational. You two high and mightys don't know what you've been missing all these years."

"Inventory's totally lame," Pete threw his clipboard to Claudia as she perched on a random stool next to Artie's computer.

"Come on now Pete, according to this we only have 84 more aisles to go, then the dark vault, the head count of the bronzed area…" Claudia counted off each task on a fingerless gloved hand.

"If the Amber Room was an artifact, and not a room, what was it exactly? Myka had left her laptop on her seat in favor of standing behind Artie as he perused the Russian Artifact catalog complied by Claudia in an effort to make her endless inventorial duties easier. "I mean, the legend is that the Amber Room was where Catherine the Great liked to conduct her nightly business, believing the amber was some sort of aphrodisiac, even believing it enhanced her partner's performance."

Not missing a beat, Pete looked up and smiled, "Oooooo, the freaky Queen. I heard about her and a not so great horse."

Claudia's eyebrows quirked upwards, "Cathy Q died in the sack, right?"

Pete's smile could not be contained, "So… does this Amber thingy like make you want to do the Black Beauty with Mr. Ed?"

"Pete, you are disgusting. Catherine the Great did not die having sex with a horse." Myka slapped Pete in the back of the head. "That's an urban legend inspired by her many love affairs. It's been said that she had more lovers than Henry VIII."

"I'm just saying, girlfriend got around.' Pete risked one final snicker.

Casting a withering look, Myka picked up her laptop, "The Amber Room was a gift to Peter the Great in 1716-celebrating peace between Russia and Prussia. The room served as a private meditation chamber for Czarina Elizabeth, a gathering room for Catherine the Great's intimate circle," Pete stifled a giggle, "and a prize cabinet for amber connoisseur Alexander II." Myka's eyes widened as she read the next line, "The chamber was said to glow from within, to radiate a mystical energy, which is what ultimately lead to its doom."

Artie's nod was knowing yet grim, "The rumors that the room possessed otherworldly qualities is what attracted Hitler to Russia. The Nazi's were obsessed with artifacts." Artie turned to Myka, "The irony of course is that had Hitler not invaded Russia, the Soviets would never have cooperated with the Allied Forces and Germany would have essentially won WWII." He added ominously, "Had that shift in the balance of worldly power happened - Warehouse 13 would be in German controlled Siberia somewhere." With a final typed command, Artie's screen settled on an image, "You could say that The Amber Room is the artifact that won the War to end all wars."

"Wise Ancient Artie say," Claudia bowed her head to Artie," Never underestimate great power of one artifact."

Myka read over Artie's shoulder, "Catherine the Great's Amber Jewel Box."

"Wait, I thought you said it was a room?" Pete was confused.

Artie sighed, "I specifically said that the Amber Room was not, in fact, a room," impatience punctuating every syllable, he continued, "The story of the Amber Room and its construction is all true to a certain extent. It really did take 70 Prussian artisans and scholars 25 years to design and sculpt. In fact, the creation of the Amber Music Box nearly bankrupted the Prussian Empire and its gift to Peter the Great marked a change in the balance of political power in Europe." Artie brought up the specs of the box. "The idea that it was an entire room was quite the Warehouse fabrication of course, rumors spread by British agents of Warehouse 12 to hide the truth that the artifact is really a container of sorts, a box that has the power to trap whoever winds the cylinder and plays the music. Catherine the Great didn't keep her jewelry inside the box; it's where she stored her harem."

"If it's just a really expensive piece of magic Tupperware, then why was Hitler so interested in it?" Myka should have been used to the feeling that most of history was simply a Warehouse fabrication, but every once in a while, it still shocked her.

"Well, that's just it," Artie swiveled in his chair to face Myka, "The entrapment of the music player is the downside of the artifact. You want to hear what it actually does?"

Claudia figured it out first, "It makes you a really powerful Queen?"

"Or King, or Dictator….." Artie finished for her, "It organizes the balance of power in the world like music notes on a page, and gives its owner the power to conduct those notes."

"So did like, the Brits thwart the big bad by snatching the Jewelry Box out of the evil clutches of Nazi insanity?" Claudia, was now standing next to Myka, reading over Artie's other shoulder.

"No need," Artie shooed Myka and Claudia away from him, "The Amber Jewel Box has been in Warehouse inventory since before the first World War." He added smugly, "That's how compelling a Warehouse cover story is- pulls the wool over the eyes of entire empires."

Myka stood up and took the clipboard from Claudia, "Well? What aisle is it in?"

Artie looked up at Myka, "Why?"

Myka rolled her eyes, "Artie, I was willing to fly all the way to Russia to view a _reproduction_ of The Amber Room, and now you are telling me the _original_ is down on the Warehouse floor?" She gestured to the office's large viewing window that overlooked Warehouse 13. "Obviously, I have to see it."

"Did I not just explain that the Jewel Box was a dangerous world wide altering weapon?" Artie threw his hands up in the air.

"Evil Tupperware's in the Dark Vault," Claudia shrugged at Artie's dismay, "You said we had to do inventory, it's just another artifact on my list."

"If I see it here," Myka reasoned, "I don't have to see it in Russia."

"Fine," defeated, Artie waved the three agents out of the office, "but this is not an amusement park-go, gawk, don't touch." Artie settled back down in front of his computer, already moving onto his next project, "no touching- I mean it!"


	2. Chapter 2

5

5

*Nothing belongs to me, but if it did- oh the possibilities.

The Romance of the Pimpernel- Chapter 2

"Artie specifically said no touching!" Myka slapped Pete's hand away from the top of the Amber Jewel Box. "You could get yourself sucked inside."

"Artie said that the _player_ of the _music_ got vacuumed" Pete shook his slapped hand, "Don't you want to see the inside of the box?"

"How long have you been working here? We don't touch artifacts unless we have to," purple gloved- just in case, Myka leaned over the jewel box. The detailing was exquisite. About the size of a small cat carrier, the box was composed of different panes of thinly cut and perfectly molded amber. Despite the dim lighting of the Dark Vault, the box truly did seem to glow from within; maintaining the golden hue of the materials despite the lavender spotlight encircling the perimeter of the pedestal that artifact sat on. Myka was mesmerized, so much so that she didn't hear the electronic whirl of Claudia's portable Warehouse database and the accompanying sound of flying fingers as the young tech recognized a black flag reference.

"Hmmmm, well, there's something you don't enjoy seeing pop up on a file," Claudia flipped through the various screens.

"What is it Claud?" Pete walked over and towered over Claudia's shoulder.

"This artifact's file has been black flagged," she shrugged, "It's not unusual, unfortunately a lot of artifacts are black flagged" Claudia frowned, "I've even put the mark on a few artifacts myself, like the Metal Spine and HG's so called "Time Machine."

Pete wasn't following, "what's the black flag on an artifact file mean?"

Claudia was grim, "well, my almost electrocuted friend, what do the two artifacts I just referenced have in common?"

"It means a Warehouse agent was killed in the acquisition of the artifact" Myka's sudden return to the conversation was unexpected. Claudia and Pete both looked up into the young woman's somber expression, "what happened Claudia?" Myka looked down at the box, suddenly not finding it quite as alluring now that she knew it had killed someone, a Warehouse agent, somebody's partner.

Pete shuffled his feet awkwardly, "Myka, do we always have to hear the doom and gloom?" He looked at his partner knowing where she was going with this, "can't an artifact just be pretty?"

"Wouldn't you want them to know?" Myka replied softly, not taking her eyes off the box. Pete sighed in defeat, a momentary distraction from the drudgery of inventory turning too serious for his liking.

"Want who to know about what?" Not following, Claudia looked back and forth from Pete to Myka expectantly.

"Want the Warehouse agents who take our place when we die in the line of duty to know how it happened," Myka looked up and met Pete's eyes, "want them to remember you, what you saved and what you sacrificed."

Uncharacteristically left without a witty retort, the young redhead's silent patter on the portable inventory database was respectful. Claudia was a Warehouse agent, there was no doubt about her level of ability to retrieve artifacts and generally take down the evil doers who would dare to thwart his royal Artie-ness. But Claudia didn't share Myka and Pete's training, both of whom had been willing to give their lives for the sake of their nation. It's why they had both been chosen for this job, and while Claudia had lost people to the Warehouse, her brother had been trapped for years by an artifact and poor Steve had actually died, the young agent did not know the level of sacrifice, even to self that Pete and Myka were willing to accept as secret service agents. Claudia began to read, "The box was under Russian control until it was acquired by Warehouse 12 agents in January of 1905."

"Bloody Sunday?" Myka walked over to Claudia and tried to read over her other shoulder. "Don't tell me this thing caused the 1905 Russian Peasant revolt?"

"Seriously Myka, you have got to get out more" Trying to lighten the mood, Pete gently shoved at his partner's shoulder, "you have out nerded even yourself today."

Claudia continued, "Apparently, recognizing the civil unrest in the Russian people that the Brits had witnessed in the French right before the whole Let Them Eat Cake revolution turned into the Reign of Terror, Warehouse 12 sent two of its best agents undercover to Russia in an effort to retrieve the Amber Jewel Box before it feel into the wrong hands." Claudia flipped to the next screen, "Obviously they were successful, otherwise we wouldn't be looking at the box here in safe and sound mode," Claudia nodded over at the artifact, "but Germany, seeing a chink in the armor of a country they were eventually going to find the time to invade, got wind of the operation and sent in their own people to steal the box."

"Germany planning on invading Russia? Shocker…" Pete rolled his eyes, "Name me a country Germany was _not_ planning on invading last century.."

Myka walked back over to the box, "What went down?"

Claudia's forehead furrowed in concentration, "It doesn't really say," she looked up apologetically, "it just says that a female agent died in a confrontation with enemy agents and that her partner brought the Amber Box back, but not her." Claudia went back to her screen, "despite the persistent British politeness that comes with reading anything from Warehouse 12, this file is actually highly uncooperative."

Pete felt the warmth of a vibe, small and silent creeping up his spine and he turned his attention to the younger agent, "what's the deal Claud?"

Claudia loved a challenge and smirked as her fingers flew over the touch screen, "This file has either been deliberately encrypted or it's simply very old and missing information and I'm completely over thinking it."

"What was her name?" Myka reached out to touch the top of the Jewel Box, the very action that had earned Pete her admonishment not five minutes earlier. She didn't care. She suddenly got the urge to smash the delicate container to bits. No one should ever have died over this box, Myka's hand balled into a fist.

"Hey, we came, we did the tourist thing" Pete reached out and caught Myka's elbow, a stronger vibe now tingling through his body, "now we head back to inventory and all its glory."

"Oh no you don't," Claudia chuckled in victory, "why do government flunkies even bother trying to hide things from me?"

"Pete, stop manhandling me," Myka turned to swat Pete away.

"Myka, we have to _go_," His partner was not picking up on Pete's urgency; she was usually so good at hearing the vibe in his voice.

"Pete, relax," Myka took a step away from her partner towards the artifact pedestal, finally picking up on his facial expression, "wait-what's wrong?"

"I'm vibing something awful, Myka," Pete stepped towards his partner again, "I don't know why, but we need to leave the Dark Vault." Myka turned her attention back to the artifact, she could have sworn it was glowing a little bit brighter than when the trio had first walked in.

"Pete, do you see what I'm seeing?" Her attention divided between Pete and the artifact, Myka leaned over the Jewel Box for a closer look.

Pete looked down at the now noticeably brighter glow, "Yeah…that's probably not going to work out for us."

Lost in cyber glory, Claudia looked up and noticed that Pete and Myka had crept across the room and were both hovering over the Amber Jewel Box. With a large smile on her face she swaggered over to them, having finally decrypted the file revealing the name of the agent who died.

"Who is totally the Queen of Thirteen baby?" The grin on Claudia's face faded as she realized neither Pete nor Myka were paying any attention to her. They were both intently staring at the Amber Jewel Box. "Guys?" Claudia jabbed at Pete's midsection, "Genius at work here- stand aside and recognize." Neither Pete nor Myka turned around.

Ignored, and slightly concerned, the young agent pushed into Pete's shoulder, "Hey, Earth to Lattimer!" Startled, Pete knocked into Myka, sending her clumsily into the artifact pedestal. The three agents, completely horrified, watched as the box seemingly fell in slow motion, finally clattering, loudly-but intact, to the floor.

Speechless, they waited for the worst.

"Crap….let me know when it's over," Pete pinched his eyes closed.

The box lay on its side, closed, motionless….its glow faint.

"Well, that was anticlimactic," Claudia, huddling against Myka, stood up.

"I can't believe that just happened," still wary, Myka straightened up and took a step back from the fallen Russian treasure. "We have got to be more careful."

"For once I'm glad an evil do-dad failed to live up to the hype," Pete bent down to retrieve the fallen artifact, "but seriously, we never speak of this again."

"Agreed." Myka, relieved, turned to Claudia, the tension in the room draining away. "What were you saying Claud?"

"Oh, right," Claudia grinned back, "Back to my big reveal that I had no less than blown up a government firewall and uncovered the name of the female agent who died in the bringing down of the empire of the evil Tuppleware."

"What'd ya find _girlfriend_?" Pete carefully placed the Amber Jewel Box back on its pedestal.

Claudia consulted her screen, "Her name was Warehouse Agent Emma Orczy"

"Wait? The author?" Myka's look was incredulous. Behind her, Pete delicately removed his purple gloved hands from the top of the box. He looked down at the translucent lid, he could see something inside, a small figure maybe? It was carved out of a different colored amber and he didn't remember seeing it during his initial perusal.

"Hmm...is that supposed to be in there?" Pete gently lifted the lid of the box and peered inside.

"Pete! No!" But it was too late; Myka listened as the music of the box filled the Dark Vault. She rushed towards Pete; the lights flickered, but Claudia was faster. The tech grabbed the lid of the box and slammed it closed. The young redhead gave Pete a withering look, her hands still on the artifact when she realized it was too late, she could no longer feel the smooth edge of the box's surface beneath her fingers.

Panicked, Pete was defensive, "but we didn't PLAY the music!"

Myka's eyes were wide, "Oh my god, Pete! Opening a jewelry box _is_ what plays the music!"

Claudia Donovan faded into a swirling golden mist and as she disappeared into the Amber Jewel Box Pete could clearly hear the young woman's exasperation:

"Seriously, Dude?"


	3. Chapter 3

3

*Nothing belongs to me, but could you imagine?

The Romance of the Pimpernel- Chapter 3

Artie took a sip of his tea and delicately placed the porcelain cup down on its matching saucer. Having gotten rid of his adult children, constantly underfoot these days, the older agent was enjoying a little Artie time. "Finally, some peace and quiet," he looked down at Trailer who wagged his tail in agreement. Artie leisurely browsed through some data he had been compiling on a potential case when Trailer yelped to his feet and jumped up to look out the office window. The dog barked to get Artie's full attention, "What is it Trailer?" Artie half smiled, "Pete get stuck down a well?" The dog barked insistently and Artie suddenly suffered the mental vision of Pete falling down the **Gulval Holly Well acquired during the **reign of Queen Victoria and said to have dispensed information to worried girls about absent lovers, depending on whether the spring bubbled or went cloudy. As Artie was to understand- the well, a few miles from Penzance Bay, was disassembled brick by brick and rebuilt in Warehouse 12. "On second thought, Trail, I better take a look."

As Artie shuffled out of his comfy chair his head jerked in the direction of the all too familiar sound of a Tesla being discharged in the distance. "I told them no touching!" Hundreds of impossible scenarios ran through the seasoned agent's mind as he grabbed a portable goop spraying extinguisher and hoisted himself up onto the zip line. Touching down a few aisles away from the Dark Vault, Artie could hear the crackle of a Tesla stream and the boom of gunshot. Gunshot? "What on Earth did those knuckleheads set off?" Artie muttered to himself as he cautiously moved towards the storeroom of Warehouse 13's most potent artifacts, the disturbance now sounding like some kind of space age show down at the OK corral. He could hear Myka yelling inside.

"DROP THE ARTIFACT NOW!"

Who on Earth was Myka yelling at? Artie thought silently priming his extinguisher. As he punched in his private security code he listened to Pete bellow at his partner, "MYKA- DON'T SHOOT! YOU'LL HIT CLAUDIA!"

"I SAID DROP THE BOX!" Myka's voice was dangerous, "YOU'LL NEVER MAKE IT OUT OF THIS ROOM ALIVE!"

Artie had heard enough.

"Dear god," Artie fumbled with the heavy air tight door, mentally running through the inventory of the Dark Vault wondering what artifact could have turned the young woman against her partners. He swung the vault door open and brought his weapon up.

"ARTIE NO!" Myka and Pete yelled together, watching helplessly as their assailant, a large burly blond man in what appeared to be an antique military uniform, turned at the sound of the door opening directly behind him. With the Amber Jewel Box in his hands, the young solider mowed Artie over, knocking the older man flat on his back in the vestibule. Myka threw her Tesla to Pete.

"We can't let him get away, Pete." Myka was two steps behind her partner who was already clumsily stepping over Artie, stunned and still lying on the floor.

"I'm on it," Pete turned to Myka, "get Artie up and get this place locked down!" He disappeared down the nearest aisle in hot pursuit. In the meantime, Artie had been pushed over, stomped on and was thoroughly confused. He looked up at Myka who was currently trying to raise the senior agent into a sitting position.

"Who the hell was that?!" Artie leaned on Myka as she hauled him to his feet.

"Someone who has to be stopped from getting out of the Warehouse," Myka was dragging Artie over to the portable Warehouse data base recently dropped by Claudia. The young woman picked up the discarded tablet and thrust it into Artie's hands. "Put this place on emergency lock down, Artie- Claudia's life depends on it." Without further question, (for now, he thought) Artie tried to sift through the contents of the portable database. He had not really paid too much attention when Claudia had gone over the relatively new device she had programed.

"I'm trying to access the remote lock down protocol," his fingers flying only a tad slower than his protégé's. "What on earth was going on down here? Who was the guy with the enormous Army boots that walked over my face?"

"I honestly don't know, he came out of the Artifact" Myka was watching Artie earnestly; "you're ok, right? I have to go help Pete catch this guy." Myka started to walk quickly to the exit Pete had followed the perp out of.

"Damn it- I can't find anything on this thing, "Artie looked around his immediate area, "honestly, Claudia would be better suited to this newfangled i-thingy whatever, where is she?" Myka stopped mid-stride.

"That's the problem, Artie," Myka turned to face her mentor, "That guy took Claudia."

"Took her?" Artie dove back into the device and finally found the command to seal the Warehouse. "Myka, where exactly is Claudia?"

"She's inside the Amber Jewel Box," answered a woman, stepping out of the shadows of the Dark Vault holding a gun. The three listened as the lock down sirens blared and doors all over the Warehouse shut tight. "If you have initiated the lock down procedures we really must get out of the Dark Vault," the stranger looked from one agent to the other, "We're about to be locked inside." Without waiting, the woman briskly walked past Myka and Artie leaving them only the option to follow.

"Who the hell is_ that_?" Artie demanded as he squeezed out of the closing Dark Vault entrance.

Though she had no weapon, Myka, trotted to catch up with the stranger. "I appreciated the fire power back there, but if we are going to be working together to track down soldier boy, I'm going to need to know who I'm dealing with."

"Fair enough," the stranger never even slowed down, "right now, all you need to know is that I am a Warehouse agent, though I'm guessing from your accent that we are no longer in her majesty's realm."

Myka gave the woman a once over, British accent, mid to late 30's, her long brunette hair was styled back in a loose bun on the top of her head. She wore knee high brown doe skin boots, khaki ridding pants, and a white button down shirt underneath a brown tweed vest. She looked like she had just walked off a vintage adventure film set, "You're Baroness Emma Orczy, aren't you?"

"Indeed, but I have a preference for just Emma," unfazed, the older agent turned suddenly and Myka looked back to see Artie struggling to keep up with the two women.

"You didn't die in the acquisition of the Amber Jewel Box, you got sucked inside!"

"I would call it being spatially _re-appropriated_, but I guess _sucked inside_ is more than accurate" Emma turned down a random aisle, "Is there no way to contact your male partner and see if he's apprehended our blond German friend?" She stopped, slightly out of breath, "I honestly have no bloody clue where I'm going."

"Right, Control Room, follow me," Myka lead the way through the maze of aisles on the Warehouse floor. The layout of the Warehouse was now second nature to her, and once she got going the Control Room was a mere 7 minute walk from their location. Myka stopped midstride as the sound of Artie's Farnsworth rang out. The older agent, having almost kept pace with the women looked like he was about to keel over.

"Pete….what's your….status?" Out of breath, Artie could barely muster up an irate tone.

Pete's expression was one of frustration, "The guy got out before the doors sealed," he pounded his fist on the sealed umbilicus door, "we have to un-lock-down this place now!"


End file.
